Sunrise, a Castle on a Bay: ‘Solitude’ by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851). c. 1840-45. Oil on canvas, 908 x 1219 mm. Courtesy of Tate Britain (Accession no. N01985. Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856). Click on image to enlarge it.
Commentary from Tate Britain Online (2010)
In the 1840s Turner reworked in oils a number of the images he had first created for the set of mezzotints known as Liber Studiorum (1807-19). Though his Biblical or classical subjects were generally grouped in the Liber in a category defined as ‘Historical’, Turner also developed a type of refined pastoral landscape, which was conceived in the spirit of Claude Lorrain’s paintings. The mezzotint design that was the starting point for this late oil painting was one of these and deliberately paid tribute to Claude by reworking his celebrated Landscape with Psyche outside the Palace of Cupid (National Gallery).
Last modified 13 May 2016w